Beyond bin Laden and future of US war on terror
The hype surrounding western media reports that the capture of Osama bin Laden may not be far away has prompted intense speculation over the future of the American-led "war on terror".
If bin Laden is found dead or alive, it would indeed be a tremendous morale booster for President George Bush, whose prospects in this year's United States presidential elections increasingly appear to be in some question.
But it would be the utmost form of naïvete to conclude that the rift between the US-led western world and parts of the Islamic world would easily be overcome any time soon.
Indeed, the US may have been bitten hard by events surrounding the New York terrorist attacks which should never be condoned. Yet, Washington's ability to appreciate and digest exactly what were the long-term trends that led to that attack remains in doubt.
More than three decades of struggle by the Palestinians for their rights have only increased hatred against the US among the world's Muslims. The denial of Palestinian rights at the hands of the US-backed Israeli regime only promises to reinforce the view that Washington is just not capable of delivering justice to a community of down-trodden Muslims.
It would simply be short sightedness on the part of the US to assume that it can begin healing the wounds from the past three decades by simply removing bin Laden from the list of America's leading enemies. A much deeper issue remains that of going behind bin Laden's person, so as to appreciate the values, sentiments and above all, frustrations that he represents.
The damage to Washington's image on the back of its ill-conceived war in Iraq is enormous enough that more muscle-flexing on the part of the US simply would not lead the road to reconciliation. Indeed, even the most well thought out steps towards such reconciliation are bound to take a long time and untiring effort before the first contours of a healing process appear on the horizon.
In this background, the best way to deal with the bin Laden issue would simply be to avoid celebrating the end to freedom for the world's most hunted man, if he is indeed caught from the mountainous region straddling between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he is believed to be hiding.
In contrast, the end to the pursuit of bin Laden should only be seen as just a milestone and nothing more in a long journey towards reducing the gap between the Islamic world and the west.
The essential follow-up steps must include a more assertive US-led western push to finally begin marking an end to the long drawn Palestinian trauma, which is essentially a common point of frustration for Muslims across frontiers.
The US would also be well advised to take a deeper look inside its home turf, where its Islamic communities continue to face anti-Muslim sentiments following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Ray of hope
In an otherwise depressing environment, one ray of hope may be reports that the Pakistani government has recently assured leaders of tribes inhabiting areas along the country's border with Afghanistan that neither they nor their fellow tribesmen would be handed over to the US military for extradition to Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On the contrary, the Pakistani government, which is a close ally of the US, has promised to put all of its own people on trial within the country. Perhaps also significant are suggestions from western diplomats that such a step may not have been taken without Pakistani consultations with the US.
If indeed there would be an end to confinement in Cuba for Muslims suspected of terrorism, it would mark the conclusion of a sorry chapter in US history. The country which prides itself on being the world's most ideal democracy has only blemished its own record by confining young men to a facility far away from their homes, and denying them fundamental rights such as the right to legal defence.
As a follow up to Pakistan's gesture, perhaps it would be appropriate for the US to follow up with removing detainees from Guantanamo Bay, and transferring them closer to their homes, where they have access to family members, friends and above all, defence lawyers. Such a gesture may indeed open more wounds in the short term, bringing out the many horrific accounts of ill-treatment of prisoners by the US military.
But indeed, as part of a genuine reconciliation process, history has to be confronted, no matter how bitter and how painful.
As for the future of the hunt for bin Laden, his image is set to remain larger than life unless the US moves conclusively towards coming to terms with some of the worst aspects of its own past legacy that has only undermined its relations with the world's Muslims.
Those in Muslim countries who have chosen to boycott American and western made products would fail to be pacified unless they see evidence that Washington is prepared to deal with its own guilt.
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